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The Utah Conservation Corps — UCC — headquartered at Utah State University’s Division of Student Services, has been awarded an $8,000 Community Forestry Partnership Grant from Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. The grant provides funding for removing hazard and dead trees, pruning dead tree limbs and deposing of slash piles on the 32-acre USU Wuthrich property located in Logan at 1483 Canyon Road just past Herm’s Inn.

The USU arborist will remove the hazard trees by the end of November 2013. UCC crews will remove smaller dead trees throughout the property by April 2014. A large volunteer project is being planned in conjunction with USU’s Val R. Christensen Service Center and other campus entities to prune living trees as well as gathering and disposing of slash piles on the property. The ultimate aims of the project are to reduce the hazardous fuel load on this property and give UCC AmeriCorps members and USU students hands-on learning experiences in community forestry.

The grant award also coincides with the UCC launch of the Blue Goes Green House project for the building it manages on the USU Wuthrich property. The UCC gained management of the building and a .91 acre portion of the USU Wuthrich property in May 2013.

The Community Forestry Partnership Grant is the first of many anticipated external funding sources to increase the sustainability of the house and property through energy efficiency, water conservation and xeriscaping projects.

The goal for the Blue Goes Green House is to remodel and upgrade the facilities to LEED standards while making the house open for public demonstration of sustainable design. The UCC also intends to utilize USU students to complete experiential and service-learning projects to achieve the goals. In addition to using student volunteers who will learn about community forestry this spring, UCC is working with USU Engineers Without Borders to make several improvements on the property.

About UCC

The UCC is an AmeriCorps program dedicated to developing the conservation leaders of tomorrow through service and education. UCC has been a program in USU’s Division of Student Services since January 2001.

About the Division of Student Services at USU

Led by Vice President James Morales, the Division of Student Services at Utah State University is committed to student success and organized into fifteen unique departments, each with a variety of dedicated programs and services that foster engagement, leadership, wellness, and access and diversity for all students.

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